The public face of Tiger Woods brought us a man at ease with himself, the decision to play in the Masters – his first time to swing a club competitively since the 2020 edition of the tournament, a time from another world when it was held in November that year – providing almost a serene presence.
“Thankful,” he replied, when asked how he would express in words the fact that he had come to a position to believe he could play – and win – again.
Behind the cloak of a man at peace, the reality is that Woods’s recovery from injuries sustained in a car crash in February 2021 – some 14 months ago – came about through medical procedures, tortuous rehabilitation sessions and the sort of iron-willed determination that only the truly special sportspeople possess.
That Woods is special is beyond doubt. Yet, he acknowledged the journey he has come, from serious injury to being able to play again, wasn’t done alone.
“I’ve worked hard. My team has been unbelievable. I’ve been lucky to have great surgeons and great PTs [personal trainers] and physios that have worked on me virtually every day. We’ve worked hard to get to this point, to get to this opportunity to walk the grounds, test it out, and see if I can do this.
“It’s been a tough, tough year and a lot of stuff that I’ve had to deal with that I don’t wish on anyone. But here we are, Masters week,” said Woods, allowing a grin to break through.
And not just at Augusta National to go through the motions, back with intent.
“As of right now, I feel like I am going to play,” said Woods.
Can he win? Can he claim a sixth Green Jacket? Can he perform a miracle comeback to even outdo his win in 2019, which came after a career-threatening back injury that also required medical intervention.
So, does he think he can win?
“I do,” he retorted, then expanded: “I can hit it just fine. I don’t have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint. It’s now walking is the hard part. This is normally not an easy walk to begin with. Now, given the conditions that my leg is in, it gets even more difficult. You know, 72 holes is a long road, and it’s going to be a tough challenge and a challenge that I’m up for.”
Woods’s world ranking of 973rd is hardly relevant given that he hasn’t played in 14 months, during which time there were serious question marks about whether he would ever play again.
That his regime of daily physiotherapy sessions and ice baths and training before the slow process of playing golf again, firstly with putter and chipper and then progressing on to irons and drivers, was adhered to – breaking through the pain barrier time and time again – has resulted in this latest comeback that again highlights the impact he has had on the world of golf.
Rory McIlroy was asked if he’d be surprised if Woods got into contention come Sunday, when the tournament comes down to a back nine shoot-out.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ve spent a little bit of time with him at home, and the golf is there. He’s hitting it well. He’s chipping well. He’s sharp. It’s just the physical demand of getting around 72 holes here this week. That’s probably the question mark. But the golf game is there. So, would I be surprised? No. I’m not surprised at anything he does anymore.”
For Woods, the good thing about Augusta – even with the tweaks and changes, to the 11th especially – is that he can fall back on a memory bank of great memories. There was a great smile when he recalled playing the course with his son Charlie last week. “It was pretty funny, ‘just outside left?’ I said. ‘No, it’s more like three feet outside left’,” recalled Woods of the father-son interaction.
The mind is willing, that’s for sure. It is all about the body. Same as it has ever been. When he won a US Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 on effectively one leg, before going in for knee surgery. When he won the Masters in 2019, a win which seemed like one of the greatest comebacks in sport, not just in golf, after his spinal surgery.
And now, now. Another time for Woods to travel the road less travelled, to showcase resilience and fortitude.
“It’s been one of those things where I’ve had to endure pain before. This is different obviously. This is a lot more traumatic, what has transpired to my leg. We’ve had to put a lot of work . . . it’s great to be back.”
Woods will have an early-late split over the opening two rounds where he will be partnered by South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann from Chile.
The three -ball will tee off at 3.34pm Irish time on Thursday and 6.41pm on Friday.
Séamus Power makes his Masters debut this week and the Waterford man will have former champion Patrick Reed and Australia’s Lucas Herbert for company over the first two rounds (5.24pm Thursday; 2.06pm Friday).
McIlroy will play in the last grouping out on Thursday at 7.03pm Irish time along with American star Brooks Koepka and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick. They will tee off at 3.45pm on Friday.
Shane Lowry is joined by the American duo of Max Homa and Kevin Na, starting at 3.01pm Irish time on Thursday and 6.08pm on Friday.
Pádraig Harrington will play alongside former champion Mike Weir from Canada and American amateur Austin Greaser.
Thursday’s tee-times (all times Irish)
(USA unless stated, * denotes amateur)
12.40 Gary Player (honorary starter), Jack Nicklaus (honorary starter), Tom Watson (honorary starter)
1.0 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), JJ Spaun
1.11 Mike Weir (Canada), Pádraig Harrington (Ireland), *Austin Greaser
1.22 Larry Mize, Sepp Straka (Austria), Francesco Molinari (Italy)
1.33 Fred Couples, Garrick Higgo (S Africa), Guido Migliozzi (Italy)
1.44 Vijay Singh (Fiji), Ryan Palmer, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea)
1.55 Min Woo Lee (Australia), Hudson Swafford, Cameron Young
2.06 Stewart Cink, Brian Harman, Harry Higgs
2.17 Zach Johnson, Si Woo Kim (Korea), *Aaron Jarvis (Cayman Islands)
2.39 Luke List, Matthew Wolff, Mackenzie Hughes (Canada)
2.50 Danny Willett (England), Jason Kokrak , Talor Gooch
3.01 Max Homa, Kevin Na, Shane Lowry (Ireland)
3.12 Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood (England)
3.23 Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith (Australia), Paul Casey (England)
3.34 Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa), Joaquin Niemann (Chile)
3.45 Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Justin Thomas, *James Piot
3.56 Adam Scott (Australia), Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau
4.18 Sandy Lyle (Scotland), *Stewart Hagestad
4.29 Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen (S Africa), Cameron Champ
4.40 Bernhard Langer (Germany), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (S Africa), Cameron Davis (Australia)
4.51 Charl Schwartzel (S Africa), Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), *Laird Shepherd (England)
5.02 Gary Woodland, Justin Rose (England), Takumi Kanaya (Japan)
5.13 Lee Westwood (England), Russell Henley, Corey Conners (Canada)
5.24 Patrick Reed, Séamus Power (Ireland), Lucas Herbert (Australia)
5.35 Bubba Watson, Tom Hoge, *Keita Nakajima (Japan)
5.57 Marc Leishman (Australia), Webb Simpson, Sungjae Im (Korea)
6.08 Sergio Garcia (Spain), Thomas Pieters (Belgium), Harold Varner III
6.19 Abraham Ancer (Mexico), Tyrrell Hatton (England), Sam Burns
6.30 Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa
6.41 Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm (Spain)
6.52 Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland (Norway), Xander Schauffele
7.03 Matthew Fitzpatrick (England), Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
Friday tee-times
1.0 Sandy Lyle (Scotland), *Stewart Hagestad
1.11 Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen (S Africa), Cameron Champ
1.22 Bernhard Langer (Germany), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (S Africa), Cameron Davis (Australia)
1.33 Charl Schwartzel (S Africa), Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), *Laird Shepherd (England)
1.44 Gary Woodland, Justin Rose (England), Takumi Kanaya (Japan)
1.55 Lee Westwood (England), Russell Henley, Corey Conners (Canada)
2.06 Patrick Reed, Séamus Power (Ireland), Lucas Herbert (Australia)
2.17 Bubba Watson, Tom Hoge, *Keita Nakajima (Japan)
2.39 Marc Leishman (Australia), Webb Simpson, Sungjae Im (Korea)
2.50 Sergio Garcia (Spain), Thomas Pieters (Belgium), Harold Varner III
3.01 Abraham Ancer (Mexico), Tyrrell Hatton (England), Sam Burns
3.12 Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa
3.23 Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm (Spain)
3.34 Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland (Norway), Xander Schauffele
3.45 Matthew Fitzpatrick (England), Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
3.56 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), JJ Spaun
4.18 Mike Weir (Canada), Pádraig Harrington (Ireland), *Austin Greaser
4.29 Larry Mize, Sepp Straka (Austria), Francesco Molinari (Italy)
4.40 Fred Couples, Garrick Higgo (S Africa), Guido Migliozzi (Italy)
4.51 Vijay Singh (Fiji), Ryan Palmer, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Korea)
5.02 Min Woo Lee (Australia), Hudson Swafford, Cameron Young
5.13 Stewart Cink, Brian Harman, Harry Higgs
5.24 Zach Johnson, Si Woo Kim (Korea), *Aaron Jarvis (Cayman Islands)
5.35 Luke List, Matthew Wolff, Mackenzie Hughes (Canada)
5.57 Danny Willett (England), Jason Kokrak , Talor Gooch
6.08 Max Homa, Kevin Na, Shane Lowry (Ireland)
6.19 Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood (England)
6.30 Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith (Australia), Paul Casey (England)
6.41 Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa), Joaquin Niemann (Chile)
6.52Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Justin Thomas, *James Piot
7.03 Adam Scott (Australia), Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau
